Donald Horne, 83; Australian Historian Wrote ‘Lucky Country’

Donald Horne, 83, a historian and author who first labeled Australia “The Lucky Country” and was credited with helping launch its republican movement, died Thursday at his home in Sydney, his agent said. He had been ill with the lung disease pulmonary fibrosis.

Friend and fellow historian Edmund Campion said Horne rued the fact that his most famous phrase lost its meaning over the years. Horne’s description of Australia in the title of his 1964 “The Lucky Country” was intended ironically -- he believed the country was lucky to have flourished despite poor political leadership -- but has since been adopted by many of his countrymen as a fitting description of their nation.

Horne wrote more than 20 books and twice served as editor of the Bulletin, an Australian news magazine. He was an academic at the University of Sydney before becoming chancellor of the University of Canberra.